Preparing the Skin for Winter: An In Depth Look

Winter is just a few days away and we are indeed starting to feel the days turning colder. Winter brings snow, merriment, family reunions and unfortunately skin trouble. When your skin starts feeling dry and irritated, it’s sending you a message. It’s crying out for help and you should pay attention.

We all prefer to wear a smooth skin over dry and rough one. But keeping the skin moisturised isn’t just centered on having soft and smooth skin. The fact of the matter is, when the skin is well-moisturised its function as a barrier against harmful bacteria, fungi and viruses is at its peak. A well-moisturised skin also serves as protection against friction. To be able to combat winter skin problems and answer to its SOS, you’ll need to have basic knowledge about the skin!

Skin 101

Lipids
To avoid getting dry skin, your skin’s moisture levels should not be diminished. It is the lipids that are in control of your skin’s moisture levels. Lipids are actually oily substances that are produced by the epidermis. (The epidermis, by the way is the skin that you see.) Not only do lipids hold in moisture, they also keep out dirt and impurities.It is important to note though that lipids can be removed from the skin’s surface easily by harsh or too rough cleansing. When there is not much lipids left on the skin’s surface, moisture is able to escape and evaporate which results to dry skin. To avoid this from happening, it is best to use a mild cleanser with moisturising prowess. This will help keep the lipids intact. Not over scrubbing and not being too rough in doing so will also help.

Skin Regeneration
Every month the skin regenerates. This is a process wherein the skin sheds off dead and flattened cells that are on the skin’s surface so that new and living cells come up. Dry skin may happen if dead skin cells take a longer time to shed off. This may also put a dent on the barrier function allowing irritants to sneak in.

Oil Glands
Oil glands are responsible for producing the skin’s natural oils which serve as its moisturiser. There are some parts of the skin that have lesser concentration of oil glands which make them more prone to becoming dry. If you see that the skin in your lower legs easily dry out, the reason for this is that there are a few oil glands in this area. Your lips are also made up of skin and unlike the rest of the skin in the body, they don’t have oil glands and they also don’t come with that protective thick outer layer as well. Be sure to lather on a generous amount of moisturiser on your lower legs and also moisturise the lips with a moisturising lip balm.

We’ll further discuss the skin on our later posts!

Found this post helpful? Let others know about these skin knowledge with your “Like” and “Share”!